BYU football: Cougar bowl games, then and now

SO, you would love to be in the PAC-12, and that
sub-par football team beat your team 54-10 and yes we have won 2 BCS games a
goal that even your cougs would kill for but have'nt even come close. Don't
just ROOT for your team with nothing to back it up with other than "I am a
Cougar" grawl, grawl. If you would have been a member of any athletic team
you would know that when you get beat so bad, shut up.

Naval VetPhiladelphia, PA

Dec. 29, 2011 10:16 a.m.

Starfarer:

"'But we make more money in our bowl games, and in
our conference!' Really? Who cares?"

Frantic and emotional
cougar fans care.

"More money didn't make you better this
year."

No it didn't. The first 11-pts we dropped on your
mid-majored team at LES was what made us better. The additional 33-pts were
just the exclamation point on how MUCH better we were than you.

chicagobornWEST VALLEY CITY, UT

Dec. 28, 2011 6:07 p.m.

@StarfarerThat's nice that you only comment on BYU articles. I wish more
of your BYU compadres would do the same. So don't think that Utah fans are the
only ones that comment on BYU articles.

StarfarerMesa, AZ

Dec. 28, 2011 11:07 a.m.

Interesting that most of the comments on the board are silly u trolls.

What? Nothing to root for?

You don't get this fan thing, do you.

Your football team is sub par, and your basketball team, well, they
would have to be much much better to be sub par. Your fans don't travel, your
fans base is fair-weather (and that is being nice), u don't have any fan
footprint anywhere but in SLC, and your posts aren't even well thought out.

"But we make more money in our bowl games, and in our
conference!" Really? Who cares? More money didn't make you better this
year

I am a Cougar. I attended every game game during my time at
BYU, even when we won only one game (Bball). I support my team regardless of
what u were doing. I rooted for Jake, until Jake wasn't a cougar anymore. I
root for my coaches, my players, my team, and my school. I always will.

You will never catch me reading or commenting on u articles. I have no
reason, or desire. When you post on BYU's what are you trying to prove?

Oh that's right,"we won two BCS...."

So?

ClarkHippoTooele, UT

Dec. 28, 2011 8:35 a.m.

Ute fans - Based on the many snide remarks you've made about the Armed Forces
Bowl, as well as BYU's match up against Tulsa, I assume then you will not be
tuning into that "boring" "pointless" game on Friday in
Dallas, even just to occasionally catch a glimpse of the score while at your
work desk, correct?

Wait a minute. What's that I hear? Some of you
will still be tuning in to watch it? Some of you will still be checking the
score during your lunch break or other work breaks?

I guess BYU's
football team isn't so irrelevant after all.

Cougar fans - Let's not
try and beat up on the Utes too much. Sure, you got a good laugh when they lost
to Colorado at home and blew a golden opportunity to play in the PAC 12
Championship game, but the fact remains they're still in the PAC 12 and BYU is
not in a BCS Conference yet.

Let's wait and see how the whole college
football paradigm plays out over the next few years. In the meanwhile, Cougar
fans should just stick to rooting for their team and not worry too much about
the Ute trolls.

JohnInSLCCottonwood Heights, UT

Dec. 28, 2011 7:36 a.m.

"How come you aren't all taking the bus down there"

Ah,
Ducky. Did you paint yourself into corner . . . again? Suppose you tell us your
travel plans to Dallas. Or can't you wait to watch another boring game on ESPN,
just for the "exposure"?

AK CougarPalmer, AK

Dec. 27, 2011 11:10 p.m.

Great article about BYU's bowl history. Thanks Jeff for putting it together. I
had never known that BYU said NO to the Fiesta Bowl and then was snubbed in
return by the Fiesta bowl in 1996. But, that being said, I still refuse to buy
any thing with a Tostito's label.

It is always frustrating to this
Cougar fan to read these blogs and endure the obsession by U fans. The U has
sold only 1500 tickets to their bowl game in El Paso? What happened to all the
U fans? Where is their loyalty? I guess now Cougars know where the U loyaly is
in BYU blue, not in supporting U sports. U loyalty is in obsessing with all
things Cougar.

Go Cougars.

No Conference Will Take UsSEATTLE, WA

Dec. 27, 2011 6:53 p.m.

Y Grad / Y Dad | 4:35 p.m. Dec. 27, 2011 Richland, WAJohnInSLC

If a team plays on network television, and no one watches, did they
really play?

--

Excellent point. Its about time a fellow
BYU fan brought up our lackluster ESPN exposure this season.

TrollPoliceSalt Lake City, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 5:29 p.m.

Gotta laugh at the trolls spamming another BYU article. Honestly, trolls, if the
Utes actually had anything going this year, you wouldn't have to spend your
every waking moment spamming the blogs of a supposedly "irrelevant"
independent that you "left in the dust" a couple of years ago.

In reality, BYU will be playing for their fifth 10+ season and Top 25
ranking in the last six years.

Just because "ANYBODY in the US" can watch it
doesn't mean ANYONE will. Almost no one is going to it which kinda proves how
prestigious and important it is. I mean good for utah, but how come none of you
are actually going to particpate in all this greatness and prestige? Why aren't
you selling even 1/10 of your ticket allotment if it is such a "great and
prestigious" bowl game? How come you aren't all taking the bus down there,
which is almost the only way to get there? Why aren't either of the teams
nationaly ranked and how come neither of them have any chance at all of being
ranked?

It just doesn't make any sense.

LOL!

Y Grad / Y DadRichland, WA

Dec. 27, 2011 4:35 p.m.

JohnInSLC

If a team plays on network television, and no one watches,
did they really play?

JohnInSLCCottonwood Heights, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 4:17 p.m.

One of the things Ducky and CFIT (plus other blue bloods who are trying to
convince themselves that the helicopter bowl is just as prestigious as the Sun
Bowl) forget is this: While the mid-major helicopter crash is on the
cable/satellite mothership, the power conference matchup from El Paso is on CBS,
so ANYBODY in the US with a digital television can watch it for free.

Odd, but not surprising, that after trumpeting it all season long--in order to
stomach the WAC schedule--the cougie fans suddenly forget it's all about
exposure. The additional money is simply an added bonus.

GoRedWEST VALLEY CITY, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 4:09 p.m.

@cougfanintx

You write "The obsession with anything BYU has the
trolls in a frenzy again today." Yet, you were one of the first to post on
the University of Utah article.

Your typical double standard.

JohnInSLCCottonwood Heights, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 3:50 p.m.

"The obsession with anything BYU has the trolls in a frenzy again
today."

What a laugh--CFIT calls out negative responses, then
moments later posts an anti-Ute rant on an article about Utah's bowl game. Isn't
it against the y-fan Honor Code to call out "trolls" and then
immediately troll?

DuckhunterHighland, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 3:44 p.m.

@WeberCatBasketballFan

What A1994, and everyone else not wearing
crimson tinted glasses is saying is that no one cares any more about the sun
bowl than any other bowl not having anything to do with the National
Championship. Claiming the payout somehow makes it more prestigious is simply a
desperate justification for it. The proof is in the el paso papers. Here is a
direct quote from the el paso times.

"this year's less-glamorous
matchup between Utah and Georgia Tech will bring in the fewest out-of-town fans
in years, and produce a much smaller economic lift for the city.

Officials are projecting the New Year's Eve game will draw about 5,000
out-of-town visitors.

That's a huge drop from the 16,000 out-of-town
fans that came to El Paso for last year's Notre Dame-Miami contest. Georgia Tech
sold 2,200 tickets to fans expected to attend. Utah had sold only 1,500 tickets
to fans expected to attend the game. Officials at both schools said late last
week that they didn't expect to sell more tickets."

If it is so
prestigious then what aren't utah "fans" going to the game?

DuckhunterHighland, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 3:18 p.m.

@naval lint

Still trying to convince people that going to el paso is
"prestigious" huh?

LOL!

WeberCatBasketballFanMidway, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 3:01 p.m.

@A1994 No, naval vet is not arguing about how much it pays. We all know how
much it pays, that is not being debated. Please! Let me put it another way,
the opinion is that a bowl featuring: Army v SMU, Air Force v Houston, Air
Force v California, Utah v Tulsa and Kansas v Houston in the past 5 years is
more prestigious than a bowl featuring: Notre Dame v Miami, Oklahoma v
Stanford, Oregon St v Pittsburgh, Oregon v USF and Oregon St v Missouri in the
past five years. Oh wait, it must be the other way around. LOL

Naval VetPhiladelphia, PA

Dec. 27, 2011 2:54 p.m.

A1994:

The argument is about the prestige level of the Armed Forces
Bowl as compared to the Las Vegas Bowl. The payout is the supporting
documentation. And, since I've notice you're not attempting to argue the
Helicopter bowl as more prestigious than the Las Vegas bowl, you must have been
suitably convinced.

A1994Centerville, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 2:34 p.m.

@Naval Vet

Are you really arguing about how much a bowl game pays? I
thought this was about college football.

Personally, I think they
should eliminate half these bowl games and award teams who have won at least 8
games.

Naval VetPhiladelphia, PA

Dec. 27, 2011 1:14 p.m.

CougFaninTX:

Sorry Tex. The Helicopter bowl IS less prestigious than
the Las Vegas Bowl, and that had everything to do with your $600K payout vs.
their $1M.

But yes, the Fiesta and Rose bowls will be more
prestigious than the Las Vegas and you your 4th-least prestigious bowl game in
this year's postseason.

FYI - The Armed Forces Bowl paid $750K to
Army and SMU [2010], Air Force and Houston [2008 & 2009], Air Force and
California [2007], Utah and Tulsa [2006], Kansas and Houston [2005], Marshall
and Cincinnati [2004] and TCU and Boise St. [2003]. So despite it's entire
history dating back to 2003 of paying out $750K, the one time its value drops
13-1/3%, it coincided with the cougars contract to play there.

It's
less prestigious. Own it.

Morgan DuelTaylorsville, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 12:58 p.m.

I would say that the BYU/Tulsa Game will be pretty tight. Tulsa has scored more
points and has played some good teams. But BYU has done some good things as
well.

My guess is that Y will loose (Sorry Cougs) in a tight game by
about 10 points.

CougFaninTXFrisco, TX

Dec. 27, 2011 12:51 p.m.

The obsession with anything BYU has the trolls in a frenzy again today.

re: navalvet - Sorry, but the bowl's payout does not always equal prestigious.
The bowls guarantee a payout in advance hoping it will be a prestigious game.
Sometimes a bowl ends up being more prestigious (better teams than the payout),
and other times less prestigious (worse teams than the payout).

Prestige is really about exposure (number of eyeballs watching the game),
quality of the match-up, etc.

This year - Stanford, Oklahoma St,
Oregon and Wisconsin make their respective bowl games more prestigious.

West Virginia and Virginia Tech make their bowls less prestigious since
neither of them really deserved to go to one of the Top 5 bowl games.

Look at the ratings when they're done and you'll see what I mean.

Billy BuddSaint George, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 12:45 p.m.

"...In '79, the 11-0 Cougars were unbeaten and ranked No. 9 in the nation
their highest ranking ever at the time. Indiana, from the Big Ten, was 8-3.
BYU's offense, behind quarterback Marc Wilson, led the nation in scoring. The
Cougars put up 37 points on the scoreboard that night, but it wasn't enough.
Late in the contest, with BYU trailing by one point, kicker Brent Johnson missed
the potential game-winning field goal from 27 yards (Johnson did convert three
field goals earlier in the game, including a 40-yarder), leaving the Hoosiers
the winners and spoiling BYU's would-be perfect season. The final score was
38-37...".

That FG was a missed chip shot.

Every time
I see Lee Corso, I remember that FG.

cougarNVLas Vegas, NV

Dec. 27, 2011 11:06 a.m.

I am Impressed with Mr Call's article. Thank you for it.

The
perspective it can give to an honest Y fan is appreciated. A lot of research and
interesting correlations.

It appears evident that there are higher
goals in effect at BYU than just being National Champions. Though us fans
sometimes forget that. (Especially when we trade silly barbs with trolls)

Thank you Jeff for your interesting article in an otherwise slow sports
week.

Naval VetPhiladelphia, PA

Dec. 27, 2011 11:01 a.m.

Starfarer:

"That's because, by definition of your comment name,
you are a troll, and anything BYU does will not be good enough for you."

PLUS, there's that glaring fact that the Helicopter Bowl IS a step down
from the Las Vegas Bowl. Your postseason destination isn't inferior to the Las
Vegas Bowl because Ute fans don't like you. It's inferior because it's worth
about $400K less. The more prestigious the bowl game, the higher the payout.
Or in your case, the less prestigious the game, the lower the payout.

But fret not. You still have your nanny code, and it looks like you guys were
a better fit for the WAC anyway.

Y Grad / Y DadRichland, WA

Dec. 27, 2011 10:59 a.m.

Shoulda been U in the Vegas bowl. That would have been delightful.

Bleed CrimsonSandy, Utah

Dec. 27, 2011 10:50 a.m.

@ Max-was-right

"I can see the HOH's(haters on the hill)are the
first ones here today.

Everyone loves a good hoh".

Congratulations on your new acronym. I got one for you: BYU (Bring 'em Young
University). WCC (Wannabe Conference of Champions). See I can do it too!

Luv 2 Troll USandy, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 10:40 a.m.

@Starfarer

Nice job. I think you're one of the first that picked that
up. Keep up the good work!

Bleed CrimsonSandy, Utah

Dec. 27, 2011 10:37 a.m.

@ Starfarer

"Luv 2 Troll U

That's because, by
definition of your comment name, you are a troll"

No way? How in
the world did you come to that conclusion? You must be so proud of yourself for
putting 2 and 2 together. Good job! I'm proud of you!

Max-was-rightspringville, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 9:49 a.m.

I can see the HOH's(haters on the hill)are the first ones here today.

Everyone loves a good hoh...

StarfarerMesa, AZ

Dec. 27, 2011 9:47 a.m.

Luv 2 Troll U

That's because, by definition of your comment name, you
are a troll, and anything BYU does will not be good enough for you.

Luv 2 Troll USandy, UT

Dec. 27, 2011 9:18 a.m.

I think the Helicopter bowl is a step down from the Las Vegas bowl.... bad move
to jump in the Indy .500.